Mandrelless multiple die coil winding machine



Aug. 4, 1931.

F.w. wALToN MANDBELLESS MULTIPLE DIE-COIL WINDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-.Sheet l Filed Sept. 30, 1927 map Aug. 4, 1931. I F. w. wALToN 1,81'5I80' MANDRELLESS MULTIPLE DIE COIL WINDING MACHINE Filed Sept.' 30, 1927 l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR i FRAN/r M WeLfzjoN- Aug. 4, 1931.

F. W. WA LTON MANDRELLESS MULTIPLE DIE COIL WINDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 30, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 65 l 6a v D FE1 9. E -l i.

PL- I2- PIE. l5..

INVENTOR lBY ATroRN Patented Aug. 4, 1931 narran- STATES Parent orFlcE MANDRELLESS MULTIPLE DE COL WINDING MACHNE Application filled September 30, 12:27. Serial No. 223,943.

This invention relates tothe manufacture of helically Wound coils and particularly to the production of coiled filamentary bodies as employed as light giving elements in incandescent electric lamps.`

Certainv types of incandescent electric lamps employ what isftermed a concentrated light source, heretofore produced in various Ways as by Winding a fine Wire upon a man- 1@ drel into a continuous helix of indefinite length andthen cutting the Wound mandrel into'v sections of given lengths, depending upon the type of lamp' or the Wattage desired in the coiled section to be empioyed'as the light source or What is commonly known as the filament. It has: also been proposed to Wind a filament Wire in the form of a helix in f the absence of a mandrel as lin the mannerv shown and describedr in co-pending application,121,156 filed July 8, 1926` (Patent No. 1,670,499, dated May 22, 1928) and assigned tothe same assignee as is the present invention. l

Y Certain difficulties attend the yproduction of lamp filaments since given conditions must be carefully observed and-,strictly adhered to inorder to prod-uceiilaments properly proportionedand dimensioned. The length of Ythe selected diameter Filament containedV in a lie-ht source must be eXact softhat the proper resistance Will be obtained for a. given Wattage-lamp, which length must'becontained in a helix of a given number of turns, the pitch oft the helix must be maintained uniform and the outside diameter of the 'helix held constant. Y l f The Windingof a filament vron a'r mandrel necessitated the subsequent removalotthe mandrel before thefilament could be used in the lamp. vUsually the mandrel is made of brass or iron and removed by immersing the mandrel Wound coils in an acid such as -hyrdrochloric acid until the mandrel dissolves. This process is bothl'aborious and'tinie consuming and adds materially to thecost of the productionot coiled iilaments. At the same time, there is apossibility of the -acid treatment harming the filament material. Various other difiiculties arise iny connection with the mandrel'woundfilament, such asthe consideration which must be given to the allowance for stretching during the winding operation and the diiiiculty in cutting the coiled sections of uniform lengths.

The above diiiiculties are overcome by employing the machine shown in the above mentioned co-pending application in which no mandrel is employed. This machine employs a die having a cavity into Which the Wire is driven and from which it issues in the form of a helix. Inasmuch as various types of lamps require filaments of different specific diameters, pitch and length, means are provided for varying the relation of the die to the path of movement of the Wire so as to attain the necessary variations in the dimensions of the coils produced.

The present invention aims to facilitate the production of coiled filaments of various dimensions in the absence of a mandrel and to make it possible to more easily change the diameter, pitch and coil spacing of a helix during the Winding operation. In accom-r plishing the above, a machine is employed in which a` multiple or compound coil bending die is provided. Vxhereas the hereinbefore mentioned mandrelless coil Winding machine employed a single die in the form of a Wear resisting member having a cavity, the present invention employs a pair of such dies, each having a cavity and sov arranged that the combined cavities constitute a coil Winding surface. ylhe cavities are formed in die blocks in such positions that the edges Vof the cavities constitute a lip over which the issuing Wire traverses into a series of convolutions. By this arrangement the dies may be set to bend a Wire into a helix of a particular determined diameter and pitch. Vhen thus arranged, means are provided whereby the relative positions of the respective members of the composite die may be changed and the diameter and pitch ofthe issuing convolutions may be accordingly varied.

By reason of this ar 'angement the necessity for readjusting the entire machine or a number of the parts thereto, as is necessary When employing a single die, is avoided.k The compound die of the present invention is so mounted as to'be conveniently adjusted in all' thevnecessary directions for attaining the required variations in the dimensions of the Vhelix produced. j

The Yinvention will be more clearly understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view illustrating the present invention, portions being broken away vto more clearly show the diemembers; F ig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line lil-ll in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detailed view of a portion of a. rod or die holder and shows the same disposed `ina slidable member; Y Fig.'4 is a detailed view showing means for cansing a rotary adjustment oi a die rod; f

`Fig. 5 is a detailed view oi the upper end Aof the frame work of the machine and shows the adjustability of a holder for the die rod; F ig. 5fL is a sectional view oi a portion oi the machine taken on line V-V in Fig. 1,; F'. 6 is an Venlarffed view ot the holder in t2 Y b section showing the relation ot tli-edies to wire driving members;

- ,Figs 7 to 13 are enlarged Jrraginentary Althoughthe present deviceis applicable y for the winding of coils or various diameters, it is' shown and described for the manufacure ot helical filaments as employed in electric incandescent lamps.v

, A machine constructed'in accordance with the presentv invention may comprise a base casting or supportl 10 provided with a pair oflateral or horizontal sli de members 11 and 12.V The member 11 may be provided with a dove-tailed groove V13 for slidable engagement with the casting 10 and with an opposite similar groove 14 tor-slidable engagement with the member 12, thus the slide members are held in. precise relation. .For the purpose ot a inore'accurate alignment, the members 11- nid 12 may be provided with dove-tailed grooves 15 and 16 tor engagement with the castingv 10.

The member 11 may be provided with Yan extension 1'? in which a bracket 18 carryiw'v a die rod 19 is mounted. rlhe projecting end-Y of the die rod is provided with va die 120 of wear resisting material such, for example',

as azdiamond, sapphire or highly hardened steel. A companion die 21 is mounted in. a die rod 22held in a bracket 23 carried .by an extension 24 of the 'member 12. The die rods'land mechanisinfor holding the saine y Vof the bracket 23.

are ot similar construction and a` descriptionof one. will answer for both. i

Consideringv the die rod 22 therefore, the same is held in a block 25 positioned between oppositely disposed set screws -26 and 27. rlhe bloclz 25 may vb e provided with tongues 28 disposed invgrooves 29 inportions 30 and One end of the die rod extends through an aperture in the block 25 and is provided with a rack 31. TWithin the block and suitably positioned so as to mesh with the rack 31 is a pinion 32 having aV shaft 33 journaled in the block and provided with a thumb-nut 34to'perinit a rotation ot' the pinion to cause an adjustment of the die rod along its longitudinal axis. A tortional orrotary movement ot the rod about its longitudinal axis lmay be had Aby means of a set screw 35 entendin'g through a threaded aperture in an extension 35 on the block 25 (see Fig-4). The die rod is provided with a iin 37 arranged to be vengagedby the set screw 35 and a spring-ineinber 38 is provided for maintaining the said pin against said screw. lt will be obvious that arctation ot the set screw 35 will cause a rotary movement ot the die rod, thus adjusting the die at the exposed end thereof.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the die rods may be moved bodily in a vertical plane and that they may also be rotated. about their longitudinal axes. Y

ln order to change the relative positions of the dies in horizontal planes, the slide members 11 and 12 are provided with threaded rods 41 as illustrated inFiga. These rods maybe rotatable and held from longitudinal movement by headsw42rin sockets 43 at one end of the casting 10 and offset therefrom. Each slide mayhave a threaded groove 44 to engage with `the rods 41. These rods may project romthe slidesand be provided with thumb-nuts 45. By this construction, a thumb-nut 45` may be rotated,'

thereby causing a movement of a slide inember. lt-.the upper rod 41 is rotated, the threaded groove 44 will cause the slide 12 to move laterally whilethe slide 11 remains fixed, since there is nov engagement between the upper rod 41 and the slide 11. The same is true when a rotation of the lower rod 41 is eiiected, namely, the threaded groove 44 in the slide 11 causes a lateral movement thereof, inasmuch` the rod 41 of the slide 12 holds the same in a liXed position. The required movement, of either of` the slides 11l or 12jis very' slight, as only a minute movenientl of the die rods is necessary to change the character of the coil being` wound.

I For the vvpurpose of obtaining a slight outward movementV of the brackets V18 and 23,

each of `the extensions 17 and 24,thereof isY constructed in the form oic a U-'sliaped memberhavmg arms 46 and 47 (see Fig. 5) and set screws 48 and' 49.1V An end' A570 of the lill) 1f, erregeeo;

, also serve -to hold the brackets against lost Y motion or vibration.

f When the dies are held in their operative rela-tion, a wire 53 may be fed thereto by means of force rollers54 and 55. These rollersmay be mounted on shaft 56 and 57 and driven by suitable connection toa motor or .other source of power (not shown). The

.rollers 54 and 55 are provided with circum-y i Us,

ferential grooves56 and 57', thecombined diameters of the grooves being'l slightly less than theI diameter of the wire being used so thatthe rollers frictionally grip the same. These rollers drive the wire into the die cavities. The cavities of the dies, therefore, must be aligned with the grooves of the rollers so that the die will properly receive the wire. Ordinarily when setting up a cavity die with'respeet to the' force rollers, ditculty is encountered in properly positioning the die to'receive thekwire. In the present construction, however, the dies maybe easily ad justed so that the lower die l2() may be posiA tioned so that its cavity receives the wire from the rollers and the upper die 2l may be adjusted to vary the pitch of the convolutions issuing fromr the dies. f

' The wire 53 may be movedthrough a substantially rectilinear path and after being engagedby the die cavity issues from the dies' in the formi of-a helixv 58. The dies may be made as separate'units andiastenedto the ends of die rods as illustrated in Fig. l by brazing or in any suitable manner. Itis ob y vious, h.owever,that-if desirable the rod ends may be of hardened material such as steel and provided with the necessaryy complementary cavities to cooperatein functioning as a. coil bending die.

The construction of the dies 20 and 2l is more clearly shown in Figs. 8 to 18. It will be noted that the die 2O is provided with a bevel face 59y and with an arcuate cavity 60 and that the die 2l is provided with a bevel face Gil and an arcuate cavity 62. The faces 59 and 61 are arranged with their edges 6l Vin Contact soy that the inclined surfaces con- `vertically in order to change the degree of the angle X as illustratedvin Figs. 7 and 8.l

catedY in Fig. 6 by the arc Y. This results in a: change in the degree of the angle X and may be readily effected by the adjusting mechanism provided.

By reference to Fig. 9 it will be noted that the cavitiesGO'and 62 are disposed adjacent to edges 63 and (A respectively of the die faces 59 and 61. This arrangement provides each die with a lip or spacer edge 65. ln the prof duction of a coiled filamentary body, this edge is substantially in the form of a knife blade, it being appreciated that the drawings illustrating the saine are on a greatly enlarged scale. llVhen the dies are in position as shown in Fig. 9 the end oil the wire passing into and out from the slots G0 and 62 is guided over the lip or edges 65 as shown in Fig. 8 so that each successive convolution is spaced by reason of the said edges, thus determining the pitch of the coil produced. As shown in Fig. l0, the cavity 52 may readily be aligned with the grooves 56 and 57 of the force roll ers which are indicated in dotted lines, thus making it possible to quickly and conveniently set up the machine for a coil Winding operation. Y

When it is desirable to vary the pitch ot the helix being formed, the die rods may be ad justed by a manipulation of the control elements such as the thumb-nut 45 which actuates the threaded rod fil, thus causing a relativemovement between the slots 60 and 62 as, for example, to position them as shown in Fig. l0 or in Fig. ll.

A further adjustment of the dies may be had to vary the pitch of the coil by a different adjustment, for example, if a coil of large pitch is desirable, the die may be slightly tipped by a tortional movement of the die rod through a manipulation of the set screw 85, thus bringing one die cavity in angular and close relation to the other as shown in Fig. yl2. If a larger diameter coil with close spacing is desired, the die rod may be moved so as to separate the die cavities and hold them in angular relation as shown in Fig. 18."

operating conditions and the present machinev has flexbility to meet the demands of the winding of filaments in accordance withgiven. ratings, namely, data which governs the diameter, pitch etc., of Va filament vfor lamps Y of different Wattages. Y Y v Another advantage of the present invention is derivedifro'm the fact that when using l eliminating a greater portion of the lapping time and consequently reducing the cost of production. f

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described herein, it is to be understood that modications may be made therein Without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined.

by the appended claims.

VWhat is claimed is 1.V A machine for bending a Wire into helical form comprising means for driving a Wire, a plurality of die-members, each die having a cavity positioned to constitute a con-v tinuous cavityto engage the driven Wire to bend the same into a series ot convolutions,

a die rod extending trom eachdie member ,and means at the ends of said die rods lfor changing the relative positions of said die members.V

moving aWire through a given path, aecompound die each member of said die having a cavity, said members being positioned to arrange the cavities to constitute a continuous Wire bending slot to receive said Wire and guide the same into a series of convolutions, a die rod extending from each of said dieV members and means kfor engaging the extended .ends of said rdierods to change the f relativepositions of said die members.

3.' A machine tor bending a Wire into helthe extended ends of said'die rods to change the relative-positions of said diemembers; Y 4. A machine for bending'a Wire into helical orm comprising a pair of die members each having a slot disposed inv a given plane and adapted to lcooperate in forming a continuous die bending cavity and Wire driving means for moving afWire into operative relation With said d1e-members,a die rod extending from each of said die members and means for changing the relative positions. ofthe extended die rods to vary the relative positions of said die members.. Y Y.

5. A machinetor bcndinga Wire into helical iorm comprising a pair of die-members, each of saiddie-members having a cavity and a separator lip adj acentthereto, said cavities and'lips being disposed to constitute a continuous Wire bending slotand separator lip and means for guiding a Wire into said'slot to be ormed intov a helix With the convolutions thereof in given spaced relation.

6. A machine tor bending a Wire into helical form comprising a pair oidie-members,

each ot saiddie-members having an oppositely inclined surface, a cavity in each of said surfaces and normally disposed in a common pla-ne to constitute a substantially y continuous Wire bending slot to receive a Wire sitely inclined surface, a cavity in each oi said surta-ces andy normally disposed Vin a Y v y' common plane to constitute a `substantially '2. A machine for bendinga Wire into helical form rcomprising Wire driving means for continuousjwire bending cavity to receive a Wire to bend the same and means for changing the angular relation of said surfaces to vary the diameter of said helix.

9. A machine for vbending a Wire into hel-V ing fromeach ot saidmembers and means for changing the relative positions of said rods to adjust the die-members.

10. YA machine for bending a Wire into helical` forni comprising Wire driving means for moving a Wire through agiven path and a compound die member, each member having a cavity, said members being arranged to position the cavities in a common plane to con-V stitute a continuous Wire bending cavity to receive said. Wire to guide the same' into a 'series of convolutions and means for adjust- Ving the members to di'derent planes.

11. A machine for bending a Wire into'helical ktorm comprising Wire driving means -tor moving a Wire through a given path and a compound cavity die-member the cavities of said die member being disposed in acommon CII llO

plane to receive said Wire to guide the saine into a series of convolutions, means for adjusting the component parts of said die to different planes and means for changing the relative positions of said cavity die member and said Wire driving means.

12. A machine for bending a Wire into helical form comprising means for moving the Wire through a given path, a plurality of dieinembers having arcuate slots disposed in a common plane and positioned so that said slots constitute a continuous slot to engage and bend said Wire into a series of convolutions, a die rod extending from each of said members and means for changing the relative positions of said die rods to adjust said die-members.

13. A machine for bending a Wire into helical form comprising a pair of die-members each having a slot, means for supporting said members to arrange the slots to normally constitute a continuous Wire bending cavity, Wire driving means for moving a Wire into operative relation With said die-members and means for laterally adjusting the positions of said members.

14C. A machine for bending a Wire into heli calk form comprising a pair oit` die-members disposed in a common planea each member having a slot adapted to cooperate in forming a normally substantially continuous Wire bending cavity, Wire driving means for moving a Wire into operative relation With said die-'members means for changing the relative positions of said members to dispose the slots in different planes and means for adjusting said die-members with respect to said Wire driving means. n

15. A machine for bending a Wire into helical form comprising a pair of die-members, each of said die-members having a cavity and a separator lip adjacent thereto, means for supporting said members to position said cavities and lipsto constitute a substantially continuous Wire bending slot, means for guiding a Wireinto said slot to be formed into a helix with the convolutions thereof in given spaced relation and means for changing the relative positions of said die-members to vary the spaced relation of the formed helix.

15. A machine for bending a Wire into helical iorin comprising a pair of die-members, each of said die-members having' a'cavity and a separator lip adjacent thereto, means for supporting said members to position said cavities and lips to constitute a substantially continuous coil forming slot, means for guiding a Wire into ysaid slot to be formed into a helix With the convolutions thereof in given spaced relation, means for adjusting said diemembers With respect to each other to vary v,the spaced relation of the formed helix and means :for adjustingl said die-members with respect to said Wire guiding means.

17.v A machine for bending a Wire into helical form comprising opposing surfaces each having a cavity, means for holding said surfaces in given relative positions to arrange said cavities to normally constitute a substan-v FRANK WV. VVALTON.

iso 

